The Star Wars saga has just concluded. The final jigsaw in the puzzle of how young Skywaker is seduced by the Dark Side and degenerates into Darth Vadar, Lord of the Sith. The entire Star Wars saga presents a fascinating world in which high tech weaponry confluences with mystic religion. In fact, many of us get so enthralled with spaceships and lightsabers that we may not realize the powerful New Age worldview it presents. At the centre of this religious worldview is what is now commonly known as the Force.
The Force is essentially presented as a kind of metaphysical life-force that encompasses all of reality. Certain special individuals like Jedi and Sith are able to ‘tap’ into the Force and manipulate it to achieve special powers and abilities. Upon death, like Obi-Wan in Episode 4, the original first movie, the Jedi merges with the force and becomes at one with the universe. Within the force, there is the polarity of the Dark Side and the Light Side, ultimate representations of Good and Evil.
The concept of the Force is not new. Such religious ideas find its roots in the ancient eastern religions of Hinduism and Taoism. Like Hinduism and Taoism, the religion of the Force is essentially grounded in a Pantheistic world view. This is a world view in which all of reality is viewed as ONE. In essence, we are all connected to the universe and the universe to us. God, ie. the idea of the divine, is the universe and the universe is God. In Hinduism, the aim is to attain to Brahman Atman, the point of Enlightenment where one merges with the divine oneness of the Universe. The soul comes to the realization that it is actually one with the universe, and in doing so, becomes the universe. In Taoism, a similar worldview is presented. The Tao is essentially the force that binds the entire universe together. The Taoist seeks to be aligned with the Tao, for alignment with the Tao brings prosperity and longevity. From this stems the concept of Feng Shui. Just as the Jedi aligns himself with the force to attain to his supernatural powers, in a similar way the Taoist seeks to align himself with the Tao to bring prosperity and health. In the West, that very same Pantheistic world view has found popular reemergence in the guise of New Age mysticism. Old ideas in a new package.
The implication of a generation of Christians growing up on a diet of New Age mysticism presented throughout the Star Wars saga must be addressed. Already we are beginning to see the infiltration of New Age thinking into main stream Christianity. We see this especially in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit or “pneumatology” as it is called by the church. Developing correct pneumatology is especially important given the obvious metaphysical aspects of the Holy Spirit and His operation in the life of a believer. The same way a Jedi is led by the Force and this leads to the manifestation special abilities and powers, so when a believer is filled with or baptized by the Holy Sprit, the Holy Spirit manifests numerous supernatural powers through the believer like healing, miracles and prophesy (1 Cor 12). The biblical presentation of the Holy Spirit in analogies like “wind”, “rain”, “water”, “fire” lends even greater temptation to associate the Holy Spirit with a Star Wars like Force essence.
To develop biblically accurate pneumatology, we must therefore be mindful of the fundamental difference between the Holy Spirit and the Force. The first and most fundamentally is the fact that while the Force is grounded in pantheism, ie. all of existence is one, the Holy Spirit, is essentially God. And God and His creation are separate and distinct. While a Jedi can unite himself with the Force, we and God remain separate and distinct entities, each with separate and distinct personhoods. We will never become God or fuse with the Divineness of God. The separation between divinity and humanity, with the exception of the Incarnation, is a line that can never be crossed from our end. To seek to be God is the path that led to the downfall of Lucifer.
The next fundamental difference is that of Personhood. Within the Holy Trinity, there is Personhood. The Godhead acts, thinks, feels and wills. The Force as presented in Star wars, is by contrast impersonal. The Force does not feel, does not think, does not act. Such impersonality is also consistent with the Pantheistic world view. Because if all of reality of one, there can be no distinct personalities who relate to each other. God, in the Christian worldview is presented as Father, a divine being who loves us, adopts us, and calls us into intimacy of relationship with Him.
Perhaps a third and most fundamental difference is how a Jedi or Sith relates to the Force and how a Christian relates to the Holy Spirit. As with every New Age religion, the lure of the Force is the lure of power and supernatural abilities. A proponent trains himself to “tap” into the Force, thus availing himself to many wondrous supernatural powers, which he then manipulates for his own purposes. While the Jedi uses the Forces for the good of others and the Sith use the Force to further his own personal gain, it is the proponent of the Force who sets the agenda. He “uses” the Force. Those who enter into Christianity seeking such power will often find themselves easy prey to the demonic ways of the devil. A lust for power and abilities a complete antithesis to the way of Christ. The way of the Christian is one of dying to ourselves, of humility and surrender to the Lordship of Christ, the way of the suffering of the Cross. We do not seek to be something but, like Christ, make ourselves nothing. In the issue of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we do not set the agenda, the Holy Spirit does. We do not use or control Him, He uses and controls us. During the baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit saturates the believer with His presence and power, and manifests power as He chooses. We are not in control, the Spirit is.
May the Lord be with you.